This board is almost all political. Probably over 95% of the posts are political, and most of them quite negative, depressing, and the exact opposite of uplifting. So if one were not interested in that sort of thing I can see how one might not spend too much time on this board.

The world is almost all political, Art. There's hardly a topic worth discussing today that isn't affected by what's going on in Washington, Europe or the Middle East. One need only take note of the aggregated headlines at Drudge Report to know that the sands are shifting below our feet.

Except for the constant reference to duality and separation--something I think is totally silly and irrelevant--I find the perceptions of posters here extremely valuable as I try to make sense of what's going on all over the world and how current events direct impact my and my family's lives.

Now, if you can manage to avoid saying that everyone is just playing their part as if projected on a screen, what do you make of headlines like these? Or will it matter only when Owebama seizes your $1.7 million in assets?

This board is almost all political. Probably over 95% of the posts are political, and most of them quite negative, depressing, and the exact opposite of uplifting. So if one were not interested in that sort of thing I can see how one might not spend too much time on this board.

Art

>>>>>>>Yeah, it's disheartening to see. I'd rather go towards the light of positive and uplifting posts rather than the negative. I read the papers and hear the news, it's duplicitous to read it again on here. I already know the sorry state we're in. I need fellowship on here with others dealing with the human condition of living life, getting older, dealing with day to day living and what we like to do that brings enjoyment into our lives.

This board is almost all political. Probably over 95% of the posts are political

Were it not for some of the political posts with links, I'd have little info re the fractured ambitions arising out of politics. Can't stand to watch any network news and little of cable channels with the exception of FBN - and infrequently viewed (but I know right from wrong, regardless). I love the board for the people with whom I share my values. Good or bad, however anyone looks at it, it's safe haven to me. Politics affects every facet of ones life. Always has. Always will. Without the continuing commentary, there would be no enjoyment of the wit and wisdom of others who contribute. Like my MIL advised me eons ago, communication is everything. She was right.

Here's something about retirement: DH's brother's BIL just retired, so his bro called the BIL and asked him how it was going. The BIL said, well, he found a Zip Lock bag that had lost its zip and he had to put it out of its misery. :-)

Were it not for some of the political posts with links, I'd have little info re the fractured ambitions arising out of politics. Can't stand to watch any network news and little of cable channels with the exception of FBN - and infrequently viewed (but I know right from wrong, regardless). I love the board for the people with whom I share my values. Good or bad, however anyone looks at it, it's safe haven to me. --------------------------------------------------------------That's kinda the way i view it too, especially since i live in Illinois and it's low informationville out here. This board is an island in a sea of morons.

That's kinda the way i view it too, especially since i live in Illinois and it's low informationville out here. This board is an island in a sea of morons. __________________

I certainly concur

It is a nice place to come, and share some thought, get a little slice of the life of others, mostly from the same basic generation. Some song links, a recipe or two an esoteric movie/TV reference, some Good old fear of God from those fearing GOd and some new fangled fear of those fearing those who fear God<grin>

Politics too, it is a major theme, but there is new stuff every day, and it is nice to share that too with folks of a similar perspective

I am sorry the politics is so nasty, but it is what it is.

I hope some that have drifted off come back, I miss some of their perspectives. I hope that the holographic universe gets a fool ID, I miss some of their perspectives too.

hey buffalo, there's newspapers, like the Wall St Journal, C span which is excellent in giving the news as it is, no slant, you decide what the people meant by their own words....love their talks with authors of books...very interesting. I also like Charlie Rose interviews, Bloomberg News and stock info....there's all sorts of places to get your news. Blogs are blogs, we all have one...an opinion...don't trust their content at all.

Too much to read, too little time, and must focus and prioritize my time, because it slips away so quickly now. I have too much to do around here....if you'll send your husband down here maybe I'll get caught up on what needs to be done.

Too much to read, too little time, and must focus and prioritize my time, because it slips away so quickly now. I have too much to do around here....if you'll send your husband down here maybe I'll get caught up on what needs to be done.

If I send my husband down, it'll cost ya. ;-) He's involved with a couple of orgs he volunteers for. He's not an organizer, either. You look at his desk and it's like a bomb went off. Mine is tidy. <halo> I'd have him organized in a NY minute, but don't invade his domain. He just got back from Sebring, Fla., where he and his brother went for a car race. For Christmas, I gave him a Uniden scanner he programmed for frequencies where he could hear the drivers, pit crews, and who knows what else. I picked him up Sunday night. As far as races go, he said he's good for at least six months. Let him have his fun.

Thanks for the news suggestions. The WSJ is probably more my speed than Rose on PBS or Bloomberg. When I'm able,(for free), I read the opinions. Even so from reading these things, my heart is still filled with fear over our current administration that is instituting social engineering with an unaffordably huge price tag - while devastating our economy. Most media outlets fawn over it. Ugh.

He's not an organizer, either. You look at his desk and it's like a bomb went off.--------------

So does mine. Every once in a while I get it straightened out, but then music creep occurs and it is covered again. It's my only messy place, though. DH isn't any better. Right now we have all the stuff from his mother's place in Florida crammed in here. For 2 cents I'd throw it all out, but it's not my decision.

Thanks for the news suggestions. The WSJ is probably more my speed than Rose on PBS or Bloomberg. When I'm able,(for free), I read the opinions. Even so from reading these things, my heart is still filled with fear over our current administration that is instituting social engineering with an unaffordably huge price tag - while devastating our economy. Most media outlets fawn over it. Ugh. buffalo

>>>>>>>>Charlie Rose is on Bloomberg interviewing folks....one on one.

limit exposure to all that gloom and doom news. It's one thing to be aware and another to be immersed in it.

I was reading an article recently about people who read all the stock news, listen to the stock guru's on tv and read all the investment blogs, they get themselves in a tizzy over it and make bad decisions in the stock market.

Also had in there about labelling things I can change and things I can't change...there's only a little slice I can change. This fits in nicely with the Serenity Prayer.

limit exposure to all that gloom and doom news. It's one thing to be aware and another to be immersed in it.

Voters turning away from bad news is why this country's in the shape it's in, in my opinion. Going "Ewwwww" over bad news is why politicans are loathe to deliver bad news to their constituents.

I agree that good news is nicer, but when has good news ever sold newspapers? Here's an interesting story about the founder of The National Enquirer.

[quote] In 1926, William Griffin, a protégé of William Randolph Hearst, founded the paper as The New York Evening Enquirer, a Sunday afternoon broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout New York City, using money lent to Griffin by Hearst. As partial payment of his loan, Hearst asked Griffin to use The Enquirer as a proving ground for new ideas. Hearst took the ideas that worked in his successful publications; the less successful ideas stayed with The Enquirer, and as a result The Enquirer's sales never soared.

By 1952 the paper’s circulation had fallen to 17,000 copies a week and it was purchased by Generoso Pope Jr., the son of the founder of Il Progresso, New York's Italian language daily newspaper.

In 1953, Pope revamped the format from a broadsheet to a sensationalist tabloid focusing on sex and violence. The paper's editorial content became so salacious that Griffin was forced by the NYC Mayor at the time to resign from the city's Board of Higher Education in 1954.

In 1957, Pope changed the name of the newspaper to The National Enquirer and changed its scope to national stories of sex and scandal. Pope worked tirelessly in the 1950s and 1960s to increase the circulation and broaden the tabloid's appeal. In the late 1950s and through most of the 1960s, The Enquirer was known for its gory and unsettling headlines and stories such as: "I Cut Out Her Heart and Stomped on It" (Sept. 8, 1963) and "Mom Boiled Her Baby and Ate Her" (1962). At this time the paper was sold on newsstands and drugstores only. Pope stated he got the idea for the format and these gory stories from seeing people congregate around auto accidents. By 1966, circulation had risen to one million. [quote] Source: Wiki

Voters turning away from bad news is why this country's in the shape it's in, in my opinion. Going "Ewwwww" over bad news is why politicans are loathe to deliver bad news to their constituents.cc

>>>>>>>>>>I think people don't buy newspapers anymore, look at blogs on cellphone or computer, get snippets of info here and there from tv..they don't really get much information and so the electorate is ignorant. They do read alot on their puters/phones but in the scheme of things, it's blips of chit. I can't help it if their ignorant, it's a shame sure. The only person I can take care of is myself.

I heard on tv, Bernard Goldberg say recently that there is less than 1% of real news on MSM news and local news shows. If that percentage is incorrect....the gist is that the news content is painfully low. News broadcasts are filled with gossip, weather, sports,crime, celebrities, a little foreign and of course, political infighting here in the USA.

I heard on tv, Bernard Goldberg say recently that there is less than 1% of real news on MSM news and local news shows. If that percentage is incorrect....the gist is that the news content is painfully low. News broadcasts are filled with gossip, weather, sports,crime, celebrities, a little foreign and of course, political infighting here in the USA.__________________________

I also wonder of that low percent that is news, what is news?

Is news that some poor kid on the Bahamas is killed by some diplomats kid from Holland? Does the 10 minutes that is news get consumed by that every day for 2 weeks?

Also, folks using the computer etc, they do not get news. They get reinforcement of their beliefs. Once you actively edit what you will see, you do not get news anymore.

I do not see a solution to this for a while, I am sure one will come along, but I do not see it.

We need news and folks tuning into it and an unbiased source, though even a 'slightly' skewed source is OK, as long as there are a couple of skewed sources to keep each other honest. But increasingly it appears the only folks tuning into the news are folks out respective ages.

very.....electronics, 24/7 news shows with snippets of STARTLING NEWS, has greatly shortened attention spans and that includes my own....it's frightening. I become so aware of this when tackling things that do require concentration like tax prep stuff...and for longer than 10 min.